Chocolate shortbread with raspberries

Ingredients:

Chocolate shortbread cookies

• 0.5 cups of butter at room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 3/4 cup premium flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cake and cream

• 2/3 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 tsp instant skim milk powder
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 - 2 cups fresh raspberries
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preparation:

1. Beat the butter with the granulated sugar and powdered sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. When mixing the shortcrust pastry, it's crucial to thoroughly cream the butter and sugar. This will ensure melt-in-your-mouth cookies.
2. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until smooth. Form the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 1 hour to set.
3. Preheat oven to 160°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Unroll the dough and knead it slightly to soften it, which will make it easier to roll out. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of just over 0.3 cm. Using a 6 cm fluted cookie cutter, cut out cookies from the dough and carefully arrange them on a baking sheet, re-rolling the dough as needed.
5. Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes, until they can be easily removed from the baking sheet with a spatula. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet, then remove them from the oven.
6. To assemble the cakeWhip the cream until soft peaks form, then fold in the sugar, skim milk powder (optional if you're whipping the cream in advance—the powder will stabilize it throughout the day), and vanilla. Place the cream in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
7. Place the cookies on a plate and pipe a small amount of whipped cream in the center. Arrange 3-4 raspberries around the cream (the cream will hold them in place) and top with a second cookie. Pipe a small amount of whipped cream in the center of this cookie and pipe 3-4 raspberries around it. Top with a third cookie and dust with powdered sugar. Repeat with the remaining cookies. The dessert can be assembled 4 hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator. The cookies themselves will keep for up to a week in an airtight container. Alternatively, freeze the cake for 3-4 weeks..